Led flashlight tints and eye strain

[kyhunter1]

Guys, sorry if this has been discussed many times before. A quick search did not directly turn up what I was looking for. For the record, all of my lights are either cree Q5, MCE, or XPG in cool tint. Only my E1B leans more to neutral. With my new Quark turbo xpg, and my cool tint Malkoff M60, my eyes sometimes get tired or strained from the glare from these lights over extended periods of use. I dont notice it so much from my SF E1B. Up to now I have been hesitant to go the warm tint route because of the drop in overall brightness. Some recent beam shots of warmer tinted lights now have me tempted to convert. My question is how much better on yours eyes in actual use are warm tint led lights, besides the point of better color rendering?

 

[pobox1475]

I have read some very informative info in here. Google search CPF for terms like; Color retention, focus, eyes, etc... and you should find a wealth of stuff on the topic.

 

[R@ndom]

Go for it. You won't notice the brightness drop.

 

[Crenshaw]

Go for it. You won't notice the brightness drop.

in fact, it may even look brighter

Crenshaw

 

[kyhunter1]

Looks like percieved brightness loss is not an issue. How much easier on your eyes are they?

 

[Sgt. LED]

Neutral tints feel so much better. Especially the 5B.

If you use you light for 20 minutes and that's it then stick with what you have but if you use your LED's for an hour or more at a time your eyes will thank you.

 

[pobox1475]

Especially the 5B.

Have not actually seen one but from the comparison shots I would love to have a light(s) in this tint. The majority of warms are the Q3-5A's which I have been happier with than the bright whites.

 

[kyhunter1]

Looks like I will now have to buy a Malkoff M30W when they become available. :naughty:

 

[Moonshadow]

My question is how much better on yours eyes in actual use are warm tint led lights, besides the point of better color rendering?

That's what's known in the trade as a Leading Question. The problem is that colour perception is a very individual thing and can vary a lot between different people.

For the record, I see things much better with my WC tint (i.e. cool) lights which produce a crisp pure white to my eyes. There is also (for me) no problem at all with colour rendition with the cooler tints. Everything looks the correct colour, indoors or out.

I don't get on well with the warmer tints which just look yellow to me. Those are the ones that change colours, give me the eyestrain and make things harder to see.

 

[pobox1475]

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=227176

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=233122

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=227225

For the record, I see things much better with my WC tint (i.e. cool) lights which produce a crisp pure white to my eyes. There is also (for me) no problem at all with color rendition with the cooler tints. Everything looks the correct color, indoors or out.

You are in the minority and the 1st that has experienced this that I have heard of. Good for you as your light choices are more plentiful .

 

[Owen]

5B is my favorite as well, though I mostly have 5A lights(all my user lights have neutral Crees aside from one incan, and a couple of older 5mm LED lights).
Neutrals are much nicer to use than the cool tints, and better for seeing detail in all circumstances, IMO.
Never really thought about it in terms of eye strain, but looking back, I can remember how irritating it was using cool LEDs for extended periods of time, especially walking outdoors. I would think extensive use with the wrong beam type, like a bright spot with relatively dim spill for close use or a flood at the outer limits of its range, would be a headache in the making, too.

 

[waddup]

id guess a more floody beam will be easier on the eyes.

eyes focussing on a tight bright hotspot surrounded by darkness is not something human eyes do typically.

id guess the flood factor is more important then tint.

 

[mudman cj]

Looks like I will now have to buy a Malkoff M30W when they become available. :naughty:

You won't be disappointed with it. The flood version is also great. If you don't have a floody light yet, then an M30WF would be an excellent choice. Floody lights get used a lot once you have one in your arsenal, especially a warm tint that is easy on the eyes and makes navigating your way through difficult terrain a breeze.

 

[pobox1475]

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=213984

I always hear about the Malkoff's. Tried to get the scoop on them by doing research. My head began to spin with all the different variables; boring out, different hosts, various emitters, etc...

Can someone please give me a crash course and possibly recommend the simple route to get an all out performing one with a warm tint? Wish to power it solely off a 18650 and hopefully the new AW 2600's.

 

[Mikellen]

Warm tint is so much easier on my eyes than cooler tint for outdoor use.
Cooler tint is fine for when I'm indoors at home. If I'm in a very large indoor open area like when I'm conducting a building search, then I prefer warm tint.

 

[Saint_Dogbert]

Cool tints don't look so crisp at low output levels - I prefer warm for using a light w/night-adapted vision or reading in low light.

 

[Cataract]

There is not just the color rendition. Depth perception IS a lot better as well. I noticed that when I swapped my Terralux cool colored for my new Qaa neutral for work. I work on machines that have wires and tubes hanging underneath and even though the output is slightly less on my Quark, I can see much better what I'm looking at, on top of being able to identify aging tubes more easily...

 

[divine]

Judging by what you have (M60), I think the cheapest route for you to try a Neutral emitter would be to pick up a Neutral tint Dereelight drop-in for $30-35.

There is also a USA dealer in CPFMP if you prefer more local service.

 

[mudman cj]

There is not just the color rendition. Depth perception IS a lot better as well. I noticed that when I swapped my Terralux cool colored for my new Qaa neutral for work. I work on machines that have wires and tubes hanging underneath and even though the output is slightly less on my Quark, I can see much better what I'm looking at, on top of being able to identify aging tubes more easily...

Absolutely! Depth perception is largely determined by the red end of the spectrum, which is sorely lacking in cool white tints. Have you ever noticed that a tree looks 'flat' using cool white light, but pops into 3-D using an incan? Well, there is a similar effect when switching from cool white to neutral white (though incan has much more red), and further improvement going to warm white. Neutral whites are sometimes mistakenly called warm white because people think in relative terms, but warm white tint is warmer than neutral. You have to give up a lot more lumens to get warm tint, and so most people prefer to compromise with neutral.

Sure, looking at trees and perceiving depth is not at the top of your list for flashlight uses, but depth perception is important for many other tasks. Besides close quarters tasks such as described by Cataract, I have found neutral tints to be important when walking through rough terrain. With a cool white light source, I find it difficult to see where to step and how far away the ground is below my foot. With adequate red light in the spectrum, my eyes relax and I don't have to focus so much on hiking.

 

[flatline]

Neutral tints feel so much better. Especially the 5B.

I've got a 5A (slightly pink) and a 5C (slightly yellow), but I've never seen a light that has a 5B in it. What lights/dropins are available with a 5B tint?

--flatline